Six-vehicle pile-up shuts M6

Two people were taken to hospital after a six-car smash closed the northbound carriageway of the M6 on Saturday morning.

One of the vehicles, a Honda Jazz, burst into flames and firefighters using breathing apparatus managed to put the blaze out on the hard shoulder as crews in three appliances halted traffic and blocked off the motorway.

The incident, which caused long tailbacks for traffic between junctions 31A and 32 - the turn off to the M55 - near Preston, happened around 9.50am.

Paramedics treated two casualties at the scene who were then tranferred to the Royal Preston Hospital with what were believed to be only minor injuries.

Watch manager Mark Woodward, from Preston Fire Station, said: “Two pumps from here and one from Fulwood attended the incident. When we arrived the ambulance service was already on the scene treating two casualties for minor injuuries as a result of the impact.

“There were six vehicles involved, all cars and vans. There were no HGVs in the collision. One car had got onto the hard shoulder and caught fire.

“We positioned our appliances in a fend off situation to make the scene safe for the people involved and also the paramedics treating those who were hurt.

“There were damaged vehicles in all but one of the four lanes and the hard shoulder, so the whole northbound carriageway was shut down, causing tailbacks.

“Our crews put out the car on fire and checked the others to see if there were still people trapped inside or had been thrown out. Everyone was accounted for and we established that there were no serious injuries.

“The police and the Highways Agency worked very hard to clear the scene and get traffic moving again.”